Sunday, April 23, 2006
early altruism
regardless, this is interesting as it may separate the altruism-for-its-own-sake and altruism-because-of-guilt phenomena, assuming that 18 month olds don't yet have the capacity for guilt (according to erikson, that doesn't happen until much later). guilt is a big driver, some argue, for altruistic acts such as recycling or giving up a seat on the subway, and it's interesting to note that some kinds of altruism may exist without it (if erikson is right).
Labels: misc. psych
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hotel owner slims down guests
although some businesses may benefit from relatively unhealthy habits (e.g. little debbie, mcdonalds), i wonder if they could see long term benefit from unhealthy customers. i would think that a far-sighted company would make their foods as healthy as possible while maintaining sales, right? a healthy person may eat a lot more little debbie cakes in her life than a morbidly obese person who will die 10 years earlier, even if she eats less per day. the healthy consumer will be a better and longer-lasting messenger for the product as well.
as nick naylor says in thank you for smoking, "it's in our best interest to keep robin alive and smoking."
update: although it may be in businesses' best interest to keep their customers alive, healthy, and using their products, it is just the opposite for governments with socialized medical care.
Labels: well being
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006
big, pointy teeth
reuters:
Smith himself has described it as a "brute" which had left huge pawprints.
"This is no ordinary rabbit. We are dealing with a monster," he was quoted by newspapers as saying.
"It is absolutely massive. The first time I saw it I thought to myself 'What the hell is that?'
"We have two lads here with guns who are trying to shoot it, but it is very clever."
monty python's holy grail:
this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived!
that's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide!
thanks to christy "not germanic" rhoton for link.
Labels: personal
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Monday, April 10, 2006
political stereotypes and decisions
of course, it is unclear whether such traits and values make one more likely to be a liberal or conservative, or whether "membership" in an ideological community or thinking about the logical consequences of one's ideology bends personality over time (a la cognitive dissonance perhaps?). to answer this question, we'd have to discover which came first, personality or ideology, or if they are reciprocally influential.
the statistical significance* of these results implies that there is such a thing as one true "liberal" and "conservative," casting doubt on the idea of at least one kind of diversity in political parties. in fact, a new study by dan klein (PDF) surveyed a large group of academics on voting behavior and policy issues. results indicate that policy preference among conservatives is rather diverse, with wide-ranging views on tariffs, drug controls, marriage, etc. however, modern liberalism was not such a big tent philosophy. liberal academics, it turns out, give nearly the same response to most policy questions.
so given the results of klein's study in light of this new one, it may be that traits and values commonly held by liberals lend themselves more readily to interpreting policy in one particular way. that is, their personality characteristics are a more useful or universal "lens" through which to interpret societal ideas.
then are conservative decisions based on more rational calculations? conservatives should not toot their horns too soon, as recent evidence suggests that most individuals, regardless of ideology, make their policy decisions based on emotion rather than rational thought. so perhaps conservative values and traits are just less relevant to the political world (which may make sense looking at the traits; i don't think this kind of "energetic" has anything to do with enron).
*interestingly, emotional stability was not strongly correlated with either voting pattern. :)
Labels: decision making, ideology, political
Are you sure the inconsistency of "conservative" positions doesn't simply reflect the fact that libertarian voters are often labeled conservative? I bet if you first bisected the "conservative" group into social conservatives and libertarians, you'd have a lot more consistency in their answers.
By 
, at
Tue Apr 11, 09:29:00 PM
I would say that a focus on individualism, broadly defined, would lead a group to more heterogenous opinions. It could also be that a personal elevation of some trait, say, equality or security over entrepreneurship and liberty would lead to a more homogenous conclusion -- increased state control (ensures security -- the very idea of a safety net). I am willing to bet, also, Nikki, that your personality traits would have strong gender correlations adn professional correlations. One would expect professors to have homogenous views of security and egalitarianism -- they enter a field in which the sole focus of work is security (tenure)and risk aversion (no one is ever "wrong" as an academic, just uninteresting. I bet more emergency room surgeons, holding healthcare policy positions constant, are conservative. When they are wrong people die).
-JC
By , at
Tue Apr 11, 10:05:00 PM
glad you like the name, lizzie :)
anonymous #1, good point, that may be part of it, although the study did allow respondents to designate themselves as libertarian as well (and 12, or 1.17% of respondents, did so), and also as green. one did designate him/herself as both libertarian and republican. interestingly, seven (.68%) designated as both democrat and republican. anyway, the part of the study i’m talking about only analyzed policy responses in the democrat vs. republican respondents. the beginning of the paper gives many reasons for this, including the one you mention – republicans and libertarians vary on policy decisions so much that it would throw the sample. they note that republicans are closer to democrats on most issues.
By 
ns, at
Tue Apr 11, 11:14:00 PM
interesting points JC, i'm still digesting them. according to your profession-based values theory, it's interesting that academics, who should value conservative traits like tradition and security, are the most liberal. hm. but again, perhaps those "conservative" values don't correlate to policy decisions whereas other values they hold (like those discussed in this survey, openness, benevolence, etc.) do.
i also wonder about gender correlations, although unfortunately the study isn't broken down that way. :(
By ns, at
Tue Apr 11, 11:24:00 PM
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